Effectiveness of the structural fisheries policy in the European Union

This paper presents an analysis of the effectiveness of the community structural policy in the fisheries sector by comparing the relative level of compliance with objectives (reduction of fleets and economic viability) with the mechanisms that have been implemented (structural funds and allocation of quotas). On the one hand, this analysis shows that there is a positive correlation between the level of structural funds and the attainment of goals. On the other hand, it was found that the greater the relative availability of quotas, the poorer the countries performed in complying with the objective of reducing the fishing capacity, and the higher the expectations of achieving acceptable yields. These correlations, however, were not very strong.